Stumbleine
by Pheobe Caulfield
Summary: It's the beginning of their 6th year at Hogwarts and there's a change in the gang, something that sends two members of the group on a little adventure
1. Angel Eyes

A/N-I'm usually in the X-men section, but I thought I'd branch out. This is my first Harry Potter fic so we'll see how I do. The setting is in their sixth year and right now Voldemort isn't an immediate threat. I hope you enjoy and please review, it helps a lot to have some feedback. And constructive criticism is always welcome.

Angel Eyes

"Ron. Ron. _Ron!_" a voice filtered into Ron's head, penetrating the thick sleep he had been immersed in.

"What?" he said groggily, pushing back his covers.

"Classes, have you forgotten already?" Ron squinted as his best friend, Harry, pulled on his robes. "You're not going to have breakfast if you don't hurry."

Ron groaned, sitting up from his soft, down bed. He rubbed sleep from his eyes to get a better view of Harry. "What if I just skip. Do you think the professors would notice?"

"First day of classes? Don't bet that they wouldn't." Harry gave him a lopsided grin. "Come on, I'll wait for you in the common room, Hermione's probably down there already." Harry threw Ron's ropes at him before departing.

Ron's thoughts lingered momentarily on flopping back into bed before he groaned and forced himself into his clothes.

"There you are," Hermione's voice carried up the stairwell. "We'd thought we'd lost you."

"Yeah, nearly," his voice was light, but almost stopped in his throat at the sight of her. _That's weird. _Ron shook his head, brushing off the passing feeling.

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Well…are you coming?"

Ron furrowed his eyebrows. He didn't even realize he had stopped walking. "Uh, yeah. Let's go." He hurried after Harry who was sniggering heartily.

"What?" he asked in an undertone while following Hermione's lead.

"What do you mean, _what?_ You definitely gave her a look."

"Excuse me, Hermione? Are you serious? She's been our best friend for the past five years! She's like-like a guy! I could never give her _a look_! "

Harry shrugged, his grin still lingering. "I'm just saying you got this look in your eye like you've never seen anything like her."

"I'll have you know I was looking at Neville's nimbolus mimbletonium or whatever that thing is called. It had _wings_!" he said indignantly when Harry started laughing again.

"Whatever mate, let's just get some food. I'm starved."

Ron let Harry catch up to Hermione before falling behind. He shook his head. _What was that? _He certainly never had feelings for Hermione before, so what was different? He didn't have long to ponder before they were in the Great Hall having their schedules passed to them.

"Oh joy, we're with the Slytherins again for Care of Magical Creatures," Hermione pointed out, looking at Ron's schedule.

Harry made a small noise while digging into his cereal but remained silent otherwise.

Hermione sighed. "Maybe he's matured. You never know what could happen to a someone over a period of several months. Malfoy could be a completely different person," she turned to Ron as she began to say more, but faltered and stopped at the look he was giving her.

"Hermione, you know as well as I do that Malfoy will always be a slimy little git no matter what happens."

"Yeah, I don't care if the summer lasted a century, nothing'll ever change that personality," added Harry.

"I hope you aren't talking about me, _Potter_," said an all too familiar voice behind Harry's shoulder. "Cause I think that means I'll have to issue a detention. Say tomorrow night?"

"Mr. Malfoy, I don't think it's a good idea to be giving ungrounded detentions right in front a teacher, do you?" said Professor McGonagall making her way from the head table.

Malfoy whipped around to face the professor. "Well I don't think that Potter has the right to be saying such rude things about prefects when-"

"Malfoy, just go sit down," Professor McGonagall said, her lips set in a thin line.

Malfoy turned to Harry and shot him a quick glare before stalking away. McGonagall sighed as she watched him go and then turned her attention back to the rest of them.

"And you three better be watching yourselves as well," and without another word, the professor headed towards Dumbedore with a grin.

"I can't believe that old hag would give us homework on our first day back!"

Harry and Ron were making they're way down from the North Tower to lunch. Professor Dumbledore had explained at the opening feast that students could sign up for the Divination teacher of their choice, those being Professor Trelawney and Firenze. But do to the severe lack of participation forTrelawney's class, the headmaster was forced to pursuade some rather disappointed students to give up their classes with the centaur for one semester. This decision was a source of complaining among many students.

"I just don't understand it," Ron mumbled as he shifted his bookbag to his other shoulder. "He's supposed to favor you, why'd he stick us with _her_?"

"Maybe he thought it'd be good for you," said Hermione, joining them as they entered the Great Hall.

Ron groaned as he took a seat next to Harry. "I just don't understand it. I mean, Harry's played the hero about a million times and look at how he repays us!"

Hermione made a small coughing noise and raised her eyebrows at Ron. Ron dipped his head down and started ladling food onto his plate. They still had to watch what they said around Harry, even though Sirius' death had been over two months, he hadn't been willing to discuss the subject.

"So, Harry, what did Trelawney assign you?" asked Hermione, trying to lead the conversation into a different direction.

"Er, something about reading auras…I can't really remember."

Hermione let out a small sigh. "Are you two ever going to start paying attention in class?"

"Yeah, sure, if there's ever a time when we can't just get notes from you," Ron said, looking up from his plate.

"Well, I don't know if you've forgotten but I don't take Divination anymore. I haven't since our third year, Ron."

"Yeah, yeah. I remember alright. That was the day you beat the crap out of Malfoy, too," Ron said, reminiscing. "Man, those were the good days."

Hermione smiled. "Yeah, and that's when Sirius-" she cut off, casting Harry a furtive glance. His head was down so she couldn't read his expression.

"I think I'm gonna go to the library for a bit," Harry stood and gathered his books. "I have some things to do." He gave them both a fleeting smile before turning to leave.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. She and Ron exchanged sad glances before eating their lunch in silence.

A/N-It wasn't the best start, but I promise it'll develop the more I update.


	2. Unexpected Encounters

A/N-thanks for the review!I hope you like this chapter...and please keep reviewing. And I was really upset when they killed him too.

**Unexpected Encounters**

Hermione leaned over her Transfiguration homework. They were beginning to study how to transfigure small body parts. Fortunately for them, McGonagall wouldn't let them practice on each other until they had become sufficient enough to not make any drastic errors. Becoming sufficient meant learning the history, thus leading to the mountain of homework she had assigned.

_(a)Give three precautions that should be taken before performing this kind of spell and (b) give two situations where it would be needed._

Hermione sighed. It's not that it was particularly hard, it's just that McGonagall had given them a list of similar questions that took up an entire foot of parchment paper. Luckily it wasn't due for 3 days, but Hermione wasn't one to procrastinate.

She had just finished question 4 when Harry, Ron, and the rest of the Quidditch team entered the common room. She looked up from her homework and nearly dropped her quill.

Ron and Harry had, at sometime during practice, taken their shirts off and were currently soaked from something she could only assume was rain. Her immediate thought was sweat, but she looked at the soaking Ginny and realized that she couldn't've sweated that much, no matter what the temperature.

"Ra-" her voice caught so she cleared her throat and tried again. "Raining hard?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." Ron flopped down in a chair in front of the fireplace and hung his red Quidditch robe in front of the fire in an attempt to dry it out.

"Yeah, well Ron and I decided that keeping our robes on was just slowing us down so we figured we were better off without them."

Hermione stared at both of them with a slightly open mouth. She had always known Harry was destined to be a slightly more muscular type, but she didn't expect Ron to have become as built as he did over the summer. She vaguely remembered him telling her that Fred and George had helped him practice during the summer, but she didn't know how much it _really_ helped.

"Yeah," Ron turned his face away from the heat as he began talking, "but we had to stop practice early cause some of the girls were getting distracted." He gave a pointed look at Ginny, who promptly began blushing.

"I was not, Ron!" she said defensively. "I was just-rusty." She sat down next to Hermione with a small 'harrumph.' Since Umbridge left, Harry was allowed to play on the team again, and that gave Ginny the option to take the empty chaser position. It being her first practice in the new position, she was still getting settled in.

"Yeah, I don't really know what you two are talking about." Hermione added, finally closing her mouth.

Ron raised his eyebrows at her.

"I don't!"

"Don't what?" Harry inquired.

"Don't know what you're talking about."

"What were we talking about?" Ron asked, enjoying the sight of Hermione blushing.

"Talking about-about your bodies!"

"Ah, so you did notice something."

"No! That's what I'm trying to tell you, I didn't notice!"

"Then why did you bring it up? We didn't." Harry looked at Ron. "I don't think we did, did we?"

"Nope, sure didn't." By this time both boys were grinning.

"I-I. Ugh!" Hermione slammed her books and stormed off to her dorm. She threw her hands up in the air as she walked.

Ron and Harry both burst out laughing and began congratulating each other on successfully irritating Hermione on only their third day back. Ginny just sighed and made her way to her dorm as well, muttering something about a shower.

000000000000

As Hermione walked into her dorm, she was suddenly sorry for having left so quickly. She couldn't deny the fact that she _hadn't_ noticed how much Harry and Ron had matured. Ron was no longer gangly thanks to the fact that he had grown into his body over the course of the summer. They had both also tanned _very_ nicely. Hermione sat in her bed thinking about the two when there was a knock at her door.

"Er, come in."

Ginny poked her head in from behind the door. "Can I come in for a bit?" she was clad in a dark blue bathrobe and had a towel on her head.

"Oh yeah, sure." Hermione moved over to make room for Ginny on her bed. "What's up?"

"Nothing really. It's just it's still kind of early and everyone's still downstairs. Well except you. So I thought I'd come in here. You know. To talk. About some things."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. Ginny was acting unusually jittery; she had never acted uncomfortable around Hermione before. "Okay…so what do you need to talk about?"

"Well I don't _need_ to talk, it's just I think that I should. I mean. er-" Ginny turned a deep shade of red, a quality that was found in most of the Weaselys.

Hermione laughed. "Ginny, relax. Just tell me."

Ginny took a deep breath, "IthinkIlikeHarry," she said in a rush. As soon as she finished she flinched and added, "Again."

"Aw, Ginny, that's great!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, what? Did you think I'd have a problem with it?"

"Well, sorta. Maybe. I don't know, I mean I wasn't sure if something was going on between you two."

Hermione scoffed. "What would give you that idea?"

"Well, I mean I saw how you looked at him, you know, downstairs."

"Trust me, they're my best friends, _nothing_ could ever happen with them"

Ginny paused. "Well I was just talking about Harry…not both of them."

"Oh, well right. I know, I was just clarifying in case you were wondering."

Ginny's eyes narrowed slightly. "You have a thing for Ron don't you!"

Hermione sputtered. "I absolutely do not! _Ron? _No. I mean, yes, he did look a bit dashing down there, but I'd never consider our relationship to be anything more than platonic." Hermione took a breath. "And besides, you're the one that has a thing for Harry so don't change the subject."

Ginny blushed again, but then smiled. "You don't think he'd go for me, would you? I mean, I know that he didn't before, when I liked him the first time." Ginny cringed slightly as she reminisced. "But it's like this time it different. I don't know what it was, but when I saw him flying around…there was something about him that just brought all those feelings back."

"It wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that he didn't have a shirt on would it?" Hermione grinned mischievously.

"Do you think they're still down there?" Ginny answered, avoiding the question.

Hermione tilted her head slightly. "I'll go down and find out. Go get changed and I'll come and get you if he is."

"Thanks!" Ginny smiled widely as she flounced off the bed and walked out the door with a defined bounce in her step.

000000000000

Hermione crept down the staircase, ducking low to make sure no one could see her until she wanted them to. She carefully peered over the railing into the common room, seeing a head of red hair but no Harry.

Hermione pursed her lips and turned on her toes, intent on returning to her dorm. She took a step forward without realizing that she still had a foot planted on and untied shoelace. Her step forward turned into a step back as she tumbled down the stair case and landed with a loud, "Umph."

"Holy crap, Hermione are you okay!" Ron was by her side in a second, taking her hand in his. Several students echoed the same question, lingering behind Ron with worried looks on their faces.

Hermione raised her free hand and gingerly touched the back of her head. "Yeah, I think I just bumped it."

Ron's eyebrows were etched in concern. "Here, let's get you over to a couch or something."

Hermione let herself be handled by Ron who easily lifted her and brought her over to a nearby couch. He set her down gently and fluffed a pillow behind her head.

"Are you okay? You took quite a spill," Katie Bell commented from behind Ron's head.

"Yeah, lucky you didn't break anything," Ron gave Hermione a quick once over before returning his gaze to her face.

"Yeah…lucky," Hermione responded distractedly.

Ron raised an eyebrow, "Hm, why don't you just rest here for a little bit, I'll get you some ice for your head, okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Ice, quick thinking Ron."

Ron grinned as he stood up and winked, "I'm always on my toes."

Hermione's eyes followed Ron's back as he retreated out of the common room. As she did, she was plagued with the strange wish that he hadn't left her side.


End file.
